Water Unites

Toktogul reservoir with a storage capacity of 19.5 km³. It is part of Kyrgyzstan’s Naryn-Syr
Darya cascade, a system of reservoirs and dams (Toktogul, Kurpsai, Tashkumyr, Shamaldysai,
Uch-Kurgan) that regulates the flow of the Naryn River. In Tajikistan, nine operating
reservoirs with a total storage capacity of 29 km³ were built. The two biggest ones
are Nurek (10.5 km³) at the Vaksh River and Kairakum (4.16 km³) at the Syr Darya. The
Nurek dam is the highest dam in the world (300 m).
In order to compensate the two Soviet republics for their losses in arable land and
the costs of operation and maintenance of the facilities, a unified water-energy system
was established. The reservoirs were constructed and operated primarily for downstream
irrigation supply. Only at peak times was water released to produce electricity. In exchange
for water withdrawal in the growing period in spring and summer, the downstream states
delivered energy in the form of coal and gas in winter. This worked well, as both water
and energy were centrally allocated by the government in Moscow.
In the official water governance structure of the Soviet Union, all water resources
were controlled by the Union-wide Ministry of Melioration and Water Management
(MinVodKhoz). In Central Asia, initially a regional agency (SredAzVodKhoz) was responsible
for the whole Aral Sea Basin and also received orders from Moscow. Later, corresponding
ministries in the Soviet republics were established, but their responsibilities
were mainly restricted to the implementation of the decisions of the central MinVodKhoz
in Moscow. The agency pursued an integrated basin-wide water and energy management
approach in which each republic fulfilled a particular function. Water allocation was
standardized with fixed schedules for republics, provinces and districts. Basin management
administrations existed for some small rivers in Central Asia. However, they had
a hard time competing with the province administrations, securing water foremost for
the fulfilment of their own plans. The central MinVodKhoz itself had many subordinated
agencies with overlapping functions and competencies, resulting in inconsistencies and
ineffective implementation. It was responsible for planning, supplying, receiving, and
controlling, so that all of the relevant water management functions were combined in
one agency with minimal external oversight and control. The local water management
authorities were also restructured under Soviet rule. During collectivization, all of the
small land plots were combined into huge collective and state farms (kolkhoz and sovkhoz),
which were in charge of the on-farm irrigation systems. 7
The Soviet ideology of total human command over nature led to a belief in the
ability to exploit natural resources, including water resources, indefinitely. Apart from a
relatively low usage fee, water use was not paid for on a quantitative basis. This approach,
along with the unclear and competing distribution of competencies among different state
agencies, led to an erosion of the local sense of responsibility and a pattern of usage that
disregarded the interests of others. The old norms and rules that ensured a relatively high
yield with low water consumption eroded and water waste increased drastically.
7 Bucknall et al. 2003, ISRI, Socinformburo, FES 2004, Obertreis 2011, Sehring 2002, Thurman 2002.
Water management in Central Asia – the legacies of the past
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